Edinboro U. wants to cut 42 faculty, five majors

EDINBORO (AP) – Edinboro University wants to cut more than 50 staff, including 42 professors, and eventually eliminate five majors due to declining enrollment and a resulting projected budget deficit.

The announcement comes a month after Clarion University announced plans to cut up to 40 jobs, including 22 faculty, and suspending music education, German and French courses. The schools are two of 14 that comprise the State System of Higher Education.

University administrators are expected to meet with union officials on Friday to discuss the planned cuts.

University president Julie Wollman says the school has lost 18 percent of its enrollment since 2010 and now has about 7,100 students. That leaves the school with a 16.5-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio. She says the ratio has to be about 20-to-1 for the school to break even.